Canada's Kone to have surgery after gruesome leg injury at World Cup

Canada's Ismael Kone will undergo surgery after suffering a broken left leg in Thursday's 6-0 win over Qatar at the World Cup, head coach Jesse Marsch said, according to TSN's Matthew Scianitti.

The midfielder went down in the second half after a tackle from Assim Madibo, with a hush descending over Vancouver Stadium as the players and crowd realized the severity of the injury.

Kone reportedly fractured the fibula and tibia in his left leg and could miss four-to-five months.

Canadian players were visibly emotional as they gathered around the 24-year-old on the field. Madibo, distraught with his hands on his head upon seeing Kone's leg, was shown a red card, reducing Qatar to nine men.

Marsch told reporters, including Beth Lindop of ESPN, that Madibo went into the Canadian dressing room to apologize about the incident.

"I don't think that he meant such a gruesome tackle, or gruesome situation," Marsch said of the Qatari midfield. "I don't fault him for that, but I don't understand a reaction from their entire bench to try to start a fight about it being a red card when a clear foul just happened that broke a player's leg."

Kone was transported to a local hospital after having his leg stabilized.

"Your heart goes out to him and everybody's a little shaken by the whole experience because of the nature of the injury and also because Ismael is a big part of the heart of our team," Marsch added. "It will be a big loss for us. He's been an amazing player in these last two games."

Canada led 3-0 at the time of the injury following a trio of first-half goals.

Nathan Saliba replaced Kone and promptly scored a free-kick to make it 4-0, celebrating by holding up his injured teammate's jersey.

For viewers in Canada only:

For viewers in U.S. only:

Canada eventually rolled to an emphatic 6-0 win, as Jonathan David completed a hat-trick in the final minutes to cap the nation's first-ever victory at a men's World Cup.